Her hands paused. "I came home. Be quiet. I have to listen." It wasn't exactly a lie.
Working as fast as she could, Ari learned the shape of the stone imprisoning the Herald, its strengths, its weaknesses. It was all so very familiar. The tunnel she'd built behind her ended here. She finished it in her head, and nodded, once, as the final piece slid into place.
"Herald Jors, when I give you the word, have your Companion pull gently but firmly on the rope until I tell you to stop. I can't move the rest of this off of you so I'm going to have to move you out from under it."
Jors nodded, realized how stupid that was, and said, "I understand."
Ari pushed her thumbs under the edge of a rock and took a deep breath. "Now."
The rock shifted, but so did the Herald.
"Stop." She changed her grip. "Now." A stone fell. She blocked it with her shoulder. "Stop."
Inch by inch, teeth clenched against the pain of returning circulation, Jors moved up the slope, clinging desperately to the rope.
"Stop."
"I'm out."
"I know. Now, listen carefully because this is important. On my way in, I tried to lay the rope so it wouldn't snag, but your Companion will have to drag you clear without stopping — one long smooth motion, no matter what."
"No matter what?" Jors repeated, twisting to peer over his shoulder, the instinctive desire to see her face winning out over the reality. The loose slope he was lying on shifted.
"Hold still!" Ari snapped. "Do you want to bury yourself again?"
Jors froze. "What's going to happen, Ari?"
Behind him, in the darkness, he heard her sigh. "Do you know what a keystone is, Herald?"
"It's the stone that takes the weight of the other stones and holds up the arch."
"Essentially. The rock that fell on your legs fell in such a way as to make it the keystone for this cavern we're in."
"But you didn't move the rock."
"No, but I did move your legs, and they were part of it."
"Then what's supporting the keystone?" He knew before she answered.
"I am."
"No."
"No what, Herald?"
"No. I won't let you sacrifice your life for mine."